Instant Theme
Location and Setting Transformed with Backdrops
by Pat McCarrell | Published in January 2008 Focus on Production
There are few things that transform an event like a backdrop.
The backdrop is the theme-setting element, enabling you to transport guests over time, distance or both in one breathtaking moment when they first enter a room.
“The backdrop is the first layer to the event,” says Clayton Hellis, principal at Backdrops Fantastic in Macon, Ga. “You put up the backdrop and you immediately have the theme, even before you fill the room with décor and other elements.”
Hellis says his company designs and produces 10 to 15 new backdrops each month, taking his lead from his clients.
“The client tells us what they’re looking for, and once we decide it’s a viable idea, we design it, produce it and put it into stock,” he says. “It’s a good way to keep up with what’s new in the industry.”
In recent months, he says, the retro-Vegas scenery has been big, as has the tiki Polynesian theme that was pervasive in the ’50s and ’60s.
Beverly Pamensky-Murray, owner of DreamWorld Backdrops Inc. in San Diego, says movie themes such as Harry Potter, 007 and Reality TV shows such as “Survivor” are popular.
“Hollywood is back in a big way,” she says.
Many of DreamWorld’s latest designs have human forms painted directly on them to enhance popular themes such as Las Vegas and Bollywood.
Jane Copeland, sales and marketing director at Grosh Scenic Rentals, says it isn’t so much what is big right now as what’s small right now.
“We’re seeing planners looking for smaller drops that fit with the theme for photo shoots,” she says. So you might see a 12-foot by 40-foot onstage plus a smaller drop in the lobby with a photographer taking guest shots.
Copeland says the latest innovation at Grosh allows clients to use an online ordering system that greatly enhances the process.
“The 24/7 service has really helped make everything as easy as possible,” she says.
That’s important, especially for custom backdrops as lead times shrink to almost nonexistent. Hellis of Backdrops Fantastic says the longer the lead time, the better.
“We need about six to eight weeks to design a new backdrop, and probably another week to produce it,” Hellis says.
That said, many of the most popular themes are available with short notice.
Pamensky-Murray says themes such as Venetian, Parisian, Classic and Victorian are always the most popular and don’t require design time because they’re in the warehouse already.
About the author: Pat McCarrell
Pat McCarrell was formerly the publisher and editor of Event Solutions magazine.
Contact: editor@event-solutions.com